The Itsy-Bitsy Spider
by tinyalchemist
Summary: When a college student named Ed is bitten by an unusual-looking spider, his life takes a completely new twist. (Spider-man au!)
1. Chapter 1

It was more like science fiction than science fact.

The idea of combining the genes and DNA of two species into one was an idea that seemed only existent in sci-fi novels, until recent years when scientists began experimenting, determining what was possible, and what was not. Only one case was determined successful, but by then, the project had already been shut down due to hazardous conductions of research.

Never in a million years did he think his sense of adventure would bring him this far into a situation.

"Mr. Elric!" barked a deep voice, the sudden rise in the voice's intensity jolting a young blonde up from his slumber, messy hair and a head snapping up from the desk in response to the exclamation.

Once the golden haired student had given the professor his attention, he cleared his throat, a single eyebrow rising in disapproval. "I would advise you to stay awake." the black haired professor scolded, his dark eyes drifting down to the book in his hand. "While you're at it, why don't you show the class how to solve number thirty-four?"

Fucking perfect. With an inward groan, Ed braced himself with his arms against the table, and forced his body to stand, ignoring the grogginess still lingering in his head. All eyes were on the blonde headed student as he stepped out of his row and down the steps to meet the cold glare of the professor, who now seemed more than pleased at this humiliating punishment. Sucking in a breath, Ed walked past him and took a piece of chalk in hand. "Number thirty-four?" Ed repeated, a layer of exhaustion covering his voice.

The professor, more amused than ever, smiled coldly. "Yes, Edward. Number thirty-four." He repeated matter-of-factly, his tone sending a rumble of chuckles throughout the lecture hall. "The question is, 'What kind of reaction is produced when sulfuric acid and magnesiu—'"

"Exothermic." The golden-eyed answered, his arms crossing over his chest as he made direct eye contact with the ebony-haired professor. A couple more laughs spread across the room at the professor's reaction, who looked taken aback. Recovering quickly, a dark eyebrow raised as he continued.

"Products—"

"Hydrogen gas and magnesium sulfate. And if you want specifics, professor," A small but sly smile spread across Ed's face, "the hydrogen gas bubbles and the magnesium sulfate is aqueous. Anything else?"

By now it was obvious the professor was no longer enjoying Edward's so-called punishment. With clenched teeth, the older man spoke again. "Show us."

Shrugging, Ed turned around, and began to scribble on the dusty chalkboard, quickly conjuring the reaction from his head. Chemical reactions came to Edward with ease; the products were always obvious, and balancing was a joke. Ed finished the equation with the state symbols, and placed the chalk back into its original position, the fully balanced reaction in big, white letters above his head. "There. Can I sit down now, professor Mustang?"

By now, hundreds of eyes were glued to the two, who were interlocked in fierce eye contact. Hesitantly, professor Mustang nodded, his eyes lingering on Edward briefly before breaking contact. "Take your seat." His voice was bitter and gruff, which let Edward know he had succeeded. Casually, the golden haired alchemist brushed past the older man, and strolled back to his desk, where his drool-covered jacket lay. Sighing, he pushed it aside, and forced his eyes to stay open for the remainder of lecture.

"Thank god," Ed moaned, brushing back the strands of hair that were falling in his face. "Now I can go home and sleep."

The professor had dismissed the class not half an hour after the scene that had taken place earlier, his low, smooth voice reciting the numbers that were assigned for homework as students packed up their belongings. Ed had been slower to gather his things, and was the last person to leave the room; or so he thought. Just as he was about to exit the classroom, a dark figure blocked his path.

"Mr. Elric, I'd like a word with you." The dark voice rumbled, two piercing eyes resting on Ed's glazed over expression.

With a restrained groan, Ed let his shoulders sag, a clear look of impatience mixing with the exhaustion on his face. "Can it be quick? I have things to do." Ed mumbled, adjusting his backpack on his right shoulder with a quick jerk of his arm.

"Of course you do." Came the irritated response from Professor Mustang, before he continued. "I don't appreciate the lack of attention you give to my lectures, Edward." He cocked an eyebrow at the golden-haired teen, who looked more disinterested than he ever had been in his life. "You're in my class to learn, and—"

"I already know everything. Isn't that obvious?" Ed mumbled, narrowing his eyes against the bright light. "You always call on me but you never seem to make a point because I've always gotten the answers right." He brushed another loose strand of hair away from his face. "So, why are you so upset if I'm getting good grades? Seems kinda weird to me. Unless, you just want everybody to hear the sound of your voice—"

"That's enough!" Barked the older man, blue eyes filled with rage as he interrupted the teen from his rambling. "You're being disrespectful to the class, and more importantly your instructor, and I advise you to refrain from sleeping in my class. Otherwise, Mr. Elric, I have every right to fail you and drop you from this class."

There was a moment of silence shared between the two men, the punctual tick of the clock the only other interference in the room. Finally, Ed dropped his gaze, adjusting the sliding strap of his backpack once again.

"Fine." He muttered, before he took a step forward, his goal being the space between Mustang and the door. Silently, he shoved past his professor, and through the frame of the door, leaving the black-haired professor with the precise ticks of the clock.


	2. Chapter 2

"Look man, I don't want any trouble, just take the money, alright?"

"Shut-up, and stay against the wall!"

The sound of a gun cocking echoed throughout the small convenience store, where a handful of people, including the cashier, were lined up against a wall at gunpoint. The robber continued to train his weapon on the innocent, as he jumped over the bar and onto the cashier's side of the check-out. He worked a lockpick into the grooves of the lock of the register, intently listening for a click of a lock. Within seconds, the safe-like mechanism opened, revealing the stacks of money neatly arranged in their trays. The free hand of the robber grabbed at any money he could reach, before stuffing it into a small bag that was resting on the counter next to him.

Just as he was about to grab the last of the money, a small ring of the front door interrupted the robber from his collecting. Raising his gun, the robber focused all of his attention on the figure approaching the front counter.

"Hey pal, you still open? I've been dying for some of those little cake-things!"

A startled yell came from the robber, his gun raising to point at the newcomer. "Stay away from me!" He shrieked, firing a shot towards the figure.

There was a flash of red and blue, before the figure continued to move closer, completely unfazed by the bullet. "That was kind of uncalled for, don'tcha think?" The figure raised his hands in a questioning manner, before stopping at the counter, facing the now-horrified robber. How had his shot missed? "Listen buddy, I hate do to this, but I'm gonna have to ask you to put the money back in the register."

"You stay the fuck away from me—"

A flash of white muffled the screams down to no more than incoherent noises. A thin layer of web-like material covered the criminal's mouth, preventing him from talking.

"Hey, hey, hey! Watch the language buddy! There's kids around!" Another quick flash and the white webbing stuck itself to the gun, retracting it from the robber's hand, and into the others. "I'll be taking that!"

Another muffled scream left the criminal's mouth as more webs were shot in his direction, several strands binding him to the wall behind him. When the robber was rendered completely immobile, the red and blue figure hopped over the counter, and placed the money back into the register, as he whistled a small tune. After every last dollar bill was returned to its proper location, the masked vigilante shut the register, and hopped over the counter back over towards the few hostages that were still huddled in the corner. Once he was close enough, the red and blue figure lowered himself, and kneeled down in front of them.

"Everybody alright?" He asked the several wide-eyed faces, a masked head tilting in question as he awaited a response.

"Spider-man!" Squeaked a small voice, to which the masked figure turned his head. "You saved us, spider-man!"

An unseen grin spread across the spider-man's face as he placed a gloved hand on the child to ruffle his hair. "Don't mention it kid!" Moving back, the masked hero rose to his feet, eyes glancing over the hostages one last time before his head moved towards the entrance. "You all should get somewhere—"

A deafening noise filled the store as dust and smoke poured in, blinding the masked figure immediately. "What the.." Turning around to face the source, he narrowed his eyes to try and see through any of the blinding mist. Something was off; the tips of his fingers were tingling – which never meant anything good. A faint noise sounded behind the wall of the explosion, almost like a grunt. Raising an eyebrow, the masked figure tilted his head. What was that noise? But before there was much time to react, a massive boulder came crashing down onto the red hero, pinning him to the ground with a crack. A pained yell left the figure's mouth as he was crushed, the massive rock that was laying on top of him now visible as the dust began to clear. With a small cough, Spider-man opened his eyes, groaning at the weight crushing him. "That was just…uncalled for.." He wheezed, sucking in a breath as he brought both of his hands up to shove the jagged rock off of his figure.

"Perhaps you just weren't fast enough in reacting." A low voice rumbled from a distance. An unseen eye-roll came from the masked figure as he shoved at the rock, teeth gritting in an attempt to suppress any cries. A dark figure slowly stepped into the store through the new hole in the wall, black, gloved fingers adjusting an equally dark mask around two sea-blue eyes. "You're late, spider-man." He snarled, a dark-gloved hand snatching at the front of the red figure's chest, hauling him up off the floor, out from under the rock, and into the air.

"When did you become the coordinator of our meetings?" The spider-like figure gasped, both hands prying at the much larger hand clutching his chest. The dark figure's eyes narrowed at the pathetic attempt of freedom, and instead tightened his grip.

"Ever since you became an obstacle in my plan." The dark figure growled, releasing his hold on the cloth. Spider-man fell to the ground with a thud, his limbs buckling underneath him as gravity worked against him. Slowly, he found his feet again, and groaned as he pressed weight to them, a red glove moving up to rub at the top of the mask. "Your plan has something to do with this small little store?" A slight wheeze revealed itself in the voice of the vigilante, and the ends of the dark figures lips curled into a smile at the sound of struggle.

"I meant you, Spider-man."

The sentence was enough to send chills down the red figures back, two masked eyes moving to lock with blue. "Well, then what're we waiting for?" He rasped, the sound of a wrist cracking as Spider-man began to back up, his hands motioning towards the darker figure. "Bring it on."

With a smirk, the dark figure nodded. A dark aura began to outline this evil-doer, the darkness growing with every passing second. Soon enough, it completely encompassed him, and without another second, he was gone, the aura dissipating into thin air.

Sighing, Spider-man turned his attention back to the hostages. Good, he thought. All of them were completely unharmed, eyes still wide as they stared back at the red figure.

"Don't you worry about me! Get yourselves somewhere safe." He waved a hand to them, as he grabbed for the front door handle, pushing it open. "See you all later!"

Slipping through the door, the figure ran both hands down his face, groaning. "I really should get some kind of raise for this." He let his hands move down, gesturing with them in a ridiculous manner. "Every night this idiot shows up!"

"What was that?"

Two blue eyes stared directly into the whites of the red mask, before a clawed hand wrapped itself around his throat. How vulnerable and weak this character was. It was almost insulting; the dark figure knew this had to be some sort of joke. Spider-man let out a strangled cry, both hands desperately clutching at the dark hand as it constricted his breathing. Harder, harder, _harder_ …the spider like figure was beginning to see dots in his vision, as his lungs screamed for air.

"Having trouble, Spider-man?" hissed the dark creature, his taunting voice washing over the vigilante as his hearing became fuzzy. "Why don't you just _relax_?"

A small choking sound left the red figure as the claws tightened around his neck even further as they prepared to launch him. With a swift grunt, the dark figure threw the half-limp figure across the street, his body slamming into a dark brick building. The figure collapsed in a heap on the ground, his breath hitching as he tried to breathe in. "Dammit Nightwing.." He wheezed, as he placed a gloved hand gently against his chest. "I wasn't..bothering you.."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong, little bug." Came the dark voice of Nightwing, who was looming directly over the crumpled heap on the ground.

"You're always bothering me."

/Just a small comment to throw! I've used Nightwing's name for this character, but since he is obviously a villain, he in no way relates to the comic Nightwing. I've only used the name, because it was fitting!


	3. Chapter 3

_BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP._

A loud groan sounded as a red gloved hand danced around the side table, searching for the source of the noise. Eventually a finger-tip found its way on top of the alarm, and tapped the top.

 _BEE-_

Once the noise was gone, a small sigh left the figure laying in the bed. Sitting up slowly, long, golden hair moved out of his face, and draped around his suit. Ed moved a gloved hand up to his head, and trailed it down his face. After a moment of peace, Ed cracked his eyes open, and blinked away the grogginess that still hung over his head.

Feet hit the ground as blankets were tossed to the side, leaving the bed in a complete and utter mess. Ed shook his head, moving his hand down his chest, and then his stomach. His bed wasn't the only thing that was a mess. Holes, rips, and tears littered the blue and red suit, revealing cuts, scrapes and gashes underneath. Sure, they had healed overnight – it was part of his DNA now to heal much quicker – but the skin was still tender, leaving his body sensitive, and sore.

The blonde student trudged his way over to the mirror, where he could fully assess himself. "Shit," He laughed, running another hand through his grimy hair as he took in the horrific sight before him. His neck was an entirely different shade of color than his skin, black, blue, and gray bruises running all along his neck, a hand-print almost visible among them. Something makeup definitely couldn't fix.

"Fuckin' hate turtlenecks." He mumbled to himself as he snatched a thick, black turtleneck from his closet. He threw it onto his bed, and peeled the suit off of his body as gingerly as possible, small hisses and murmurs of protest leaving the teen's mouth during the process. Once all of his clothes were removed, he snatched a towel from the closet, and trudged towards the bathroom for his shower.

* * *

" _Elric_!"

A blonde head jerked up from the wooden table, a small noise escaping his lips as he resurfaced into consciousness. "Hunn..?" He asked vaguely, golden eyes blinking away his blurry world.

Prominent footsteps became closer and louder as Ed shook himself out of his previous state, doing his best to fix himself. As he began to sit up straight, a thick book slapped the top of his head, causing him to yell louder than usual. "What?" He hissed, his eyes darting up to meet the furious blue eyes of his professor.

"What did I tell you yesterday, Edward?" Growled the young professor, his teeth clenched in an effort to keep his temper under control. Surely the young student hadn't already forgot about their discussion already, or was he just that shallow?

Grunting, Ed rubbed the top of his head, feeling a bump begin to form where the hardback book had struck him. "No, professor." He mumbled, his tone obviously insincere as he began to rest his head back down on the table. Today, he just didn't have it in him.

"Elric, I mean it."

"Yeah, and so do I. Kay?" He huffed, straining his voice as he tried to keep the pain out of his voice.

With an eyebrow now raised, Mustang let his dark eyes sweep over the small frame of his student, noting the unusual clothing, not to mention the behavior. Taking note of this, he tore his eyes off of the blonde-haired student, and began to descend down the rows of stairs, back down to his chalkboard. "I will see you after class, Edward." He announced firmly, before taking another piece of chalk in hand to continue his lecture.

With a restrained groan, Ed raised his hand up in the air, signaling a thumbs up to the professor before he let it fall down on the desk with a thump. "Fuckin' bastard." He mumbled, before hauling his head back up in an attempt to watch professor Mustang finish his lecture.

* * *

Once again, Mustang had finished his lecture, dismissing everybody with a closing statement of, "and I expect those essay's to be handed into me tomorrow morning, no exceptions." With the last remaining shuffles of the students exiting the door, Ed and his professor were left alone in the silent, blank room.

"Come down here." The ebony-haired instructor called.

Reluctantly, Edward complied as he slung his book-bag onto his right shoulder, the rattle of his belongings within echoing in the vacant classroom. "Where else did you think I was gonna go?" murmured the blonde-haired teen, who was now stepping down the rows of seats and desks, and towards his professor. "Up?" He joked, a small smirk leaving his lips as he watched his professor's face contort with confusion, and a hint of another emotion.

"If you had, that would have been rather interesting," the professor murmured, eyeing Ed as he approached him. Something was poking out of the top of Ed's turtleneck, some kind of discoloration, it looked. Roy's eyebrows raised as he tried to get a closer look, but by the time he'd begun to focus on the matter, it was invisible, covered by the blonde's long, loose hair. Clearing his throat, Mustang shook the thought out of his head.

"You do remember the conversation we had yesterday, yes?" Roy repeated as a hand moved up to brush a few loose strands of hair out of his face.

"Yeah. No sleeping, and not paying attention in class. I told you, already, I remember." Ed groaned, straining his voice to show the lack of seriousness he had in this conversation.

"Yes, that's been made clear to me. I want to talk about your sleeping schedule."

Ed stiffened.

"You're always sleeping in my class. It can't just be boredom that's causing you to fall asleep. Is everything alright?" asked Roy, his eyebrows furrowing now as he waited for an answer from the teen.

Biting his lip, Ed glanced around the classroom, his mind spinning as he tried to come up with a logical excuse. What would make sense for his lack of sleep that wouldn't give away what was _actually_ going on? Clearing his throat, he decided to wing it. "It's just all the studying I do for my other classes," He lied, a nod following his explanation. "I stay up pretty late almost every night writing and studying the material." He sucked in a breath. "Nothing to worry about, really."

Nodding, Roy put a hand to his chin as he took in Edward's words. "I see. Well, as long as it's not anything serious, then I suppose I shouldn't need to call counseling or anything—"

"Nah, I'm good, really." How long was this going to go on? And why the sudden interest in his sleeping patterns? Professor Mustang was never one to personally care for his students. Then again, when had he ever had a student that slept in his class almost 24/7? Ed assumed he probably never had.

After a second of silence, Ed huffed, and shrugged his back-pack further onto his shoulder. "Well, I've got some work to do, don't wanna be up to late, y'know?" With a half-hearted grin, Ed turned his body towards the door of the classroom. "Be seeing you, professor." Ed told professor Mustang as he neared the door. "Don't worry about me, really." And with that, the golden-haired student was gone.

Sighing, Roy ran a hand through his hair, and let it slide down the back of his neck, before falling back into place beside his body. Something was definitely off about that kid, but Roy didn't want to come off as prying. Besides, he thought, he had his own matters to attend to. Slowly, he began to make his way back towards his desk, letting out a yawn as he thought about the stacks of papers waiting to be graded on his desk. He'd be at this for a while.


	4. Chapter 4

"Another day, another ass-kickin'."

The sound of skin sliding against fabric filled the room as Ed slipped into his red and blue suit, the holes and rips now repaired with tightly woven stitching. Once Ed had pulled his suit up to his neck, he let it go with a snap, grimacing at the jolt of pain it brought. Shaking it off, he grabbed a hair-tie, and took a handful of hair, starting at the top as he began to braid his hair into a tightly woven style. After it was secured, Ed grabbed the mask off his bed, and slipped it on over his head, sucking in air as his breathing became significantly harder. Once his mask was fully over his head, he snaked his hand back into the back of his mask, and repositioned his braid, so it rested tightly against his head. "Can't fight crime without a stylish suit," The now muffled voice announced, Ed's emotionless mask giving off a light-hearted vibe.

With a crack of his neck, he grabbed the bottom of his dorm window, and pushed up, sliding the glass case upwards, leaving just enough space for his nimble body to crawl through. With the screen gone – he'd removed it months ago, it was becoming too much of a hassle to put it back every time – Ed placed a foot on the windowsill, and hauled himself up into the window frame, his feet sticking to the surface as if glue were attached to the bottom. He then stood up, and swung his body out, attaching his fingertips to the outside part of his window. With a leap of faith, Ed detached his feet from the windowsill and swung them out, parting his legs to stick to each side of the window. Grinning under the mask, he placed his left hand in a similar position, and slid the window closed with his right, shutting it with a soft click.

"Time to go to work!" the spider announced, legs and feet detaching and attaching to the brick surface repeatedly as the rooftop became closer and closer. With one final leap, the masked figure hopped up to the edge of the dorm roof, his head tilting as he assessed the new point of view. Almost immediately, Ed's fingertips began to tingle, and his mask turned to face the right, two eyes blinking under the mask.

"Already? Damn, we've got some early birds!" Without hesitation, the spider stood up, and stretched his limbs, taking in the sight of Central City in its night life. It seemed so peaceful from here, as if the city didn't have a care in the world. But below that façade, that first layer, dwelled an evil, an evil so dangerous even Ed wasn't sure what to make of it. Shaking off the daunting thought, Ed cracked his wrist, and focused his eyes on a nearby building. Once he was certain his position was correct, he took a step backwards, before breaking out into a sprint, running towards the edge of the rooftop. He didn't think twice before he jumped, letting out an ecstatic yell as the wind wrapped around him, and screamed in his ears. Grinning, he cracked his wrist again, and within a second, stopped his descend down towards the ground.

A web from a small contraption on his wrist had held him up, and had swung him towards the building, which was approaching fast. But Ed knew this routine all too well. A second later and he was connected to another building, his speed increasing as he swung through the air. Again and again, webs were connected to buildings, as the spider made his way downtown, faces rising up from their previous task to look at the hero in red, fingers, cameras, and smiling faces directed towards Ed.

"Hey folks! How's the night life?" Called Ed as he attached more webs, an unseen grin on his face as he made his way closer to his location.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but there's a city I've gotta take care of, so I'll catch you later!"

In a matter of minutes, Ed knew he had arrived. The tingling sensation in his fingers had been steadily increasing, until it had become almost unbearable. This had to be the place. Scratching his head, he let his eyes look the building up and down. "Good ol' bank robbery." The glass doors in the front of the building were smashed, shards of glass littering the floor as Ed made his way over and around them. Inside most lights were off, save a few that were flickering in and out, creating unusual shadows that danced across the walls. That made the golden-haired vigilante nervous. Moving shadows weren't Ed's favorite, ever since they'd become a weakness to him. "That asshole better not be here tonight," whispered the vigilante as he listened for any unusual noises, or voices.

Something off the main entrance caught his attention, his head snapping to set his attention on the source. Silently, he inched towards the wall, and placed his hands against it, his right above his left. With a quick jump, both legs followed, sticking him neatly against the bank wall. Ed let a grin run across his face as he began to climb around the corner, his climbing completely silent, save the small noise of fabric against skin.

"..told..him...weren't..splitting.."

Ed paused in his descent down the hallway, masked eyes widening in question. "Hmm?"

Slowly, he began to climb again, listening intently for more words.

"Nightcrawler…"

Nightcrawler? That wasn't a name Ed was familiar with. Unless somehow they were referring to him. Glancing down at his feet and hands, he gave a small shrug. That was one possibility. Moving even closer, Ed was able to hear even more.

"You better not…could get…killed..!"

Killed? "Just who the hell do they think I am? Some mass murderer?" Rolling his eyes, he moved even closer, the end of the hallway just feet away. Based on the layout of the bank, this was most likely the safe.

Just as the masked figure was about to drop down onto the ground, an achingly familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.

"It's Nightwing."

A cold chill ran down Ed's spine as he heard the air grow completely silent, the tension replacing any sound that would have otherwise been present. It was only when a footstep sounded did the silence ebb away.

"How did you-?"

"We had a deal. Talking behind my back isn't something I particularly enjoy." The low voice pierced through the air, causing Spider-man's breath to hitch.

"Give me what we agreed on, and I'll let you go."

A scoff followed after Nightwing's voice. "You don't scare us. You didn't do jack shit here! What makes you think you deserve th—"

Choking noises interrupted the disembodied voice, another panicked voice piping in.

"S-stop! What're you doing?! We'll give you the money, just, don't hurt him!"

 _Crack._

The vigilante's heart skipped a beat as a deathly thud echoed throughout the safe walls, the indication of one less individual present.

"I don't negotiate." Hissed the dark voice, before a dark aura pulsated across the entirety of the room, almost knocking Ed off the wall. Tensing his body to counteract the sudden force, he strained to hear inside the vault, the only audible noise a loud rush of air circling inside the room. With one final pulse, the air calmed, and the noise ceased, almost all at once. The masked figure gritted his teeth, and slowly lifted his body off of the wall. What was that all about?

The spider waited a minute before crawling closer to the exit, a red mask poking itself into the room. Inside lay a few straggling dollar bills, blood, and the limp body of the protestor. Stomach lurching, Ed climbed his way over the doorframe and into the room, examining it closer.

"The fuck..?"

Where was Nightwing and the other man?


End file.
